Some thoughts on Goblin religion

These are specific to the Gozartd Campaign, which my friend is running and which is set in his own homebrewed world. The campaign includes its own pantheon, and while he has considered reworking that aspect there are enough elements that have figured into previous campaigns and ongoing lore that I suspect it's more likely to expand than to change completely -- at least without a major campaign event to justify and explain the rework. So, with that in mind...

Goblins and goblinoids do not have a creator-god... or if they do, none of the gods are willing to admit it. Among the goblins who worship specific gods, many focus on Indra and find inspiration in his trickery and guile; some give praise to Artemis, who guides them in their hunts and protects them when the civilizations around them will not; and a handful worship Jinn, desiring something of his power. Vecna and Asmodeus have notable following among goblins, while Apollyon frequently attracts hobgoblins and bugbears to his service. 

Even so, all of these objects of worship are minorities among goblinoid clerics (and the far-more-rare goblinoid paladins). Most goblin clerics follow the (disorganized, idiosyncratic, and somewhat chaotic) veneration of Gleefulshiv Lightfingers and Gruila Darkstabber. They even have their own disorder of paladins, though in truth the Darkstabber Paladins of Glee are more like rogues with some spellcasting and smiting capability. 

Gleefulshiv is not a god, or at least he wasn't originally. He was a goblin rogue and eventually a war-leader in the early days of the world: a traveler, a trickster, and a thief. The stories of his life are inextricably bound up with his companion Gruila Darkstabber, an equally larcenous hobgoblin barbarian. The nature of their relationship remains somewhat unclear, but it appears at the very least to have reached the level of friends with benefits. The tales of their adventures, cons, heists, and ambushes are no longer entirely theirs; any particularly successful goblin, hobgoblin, or bugbear's exploits may make its way into their myths and become attributed to them. The two are generally worshiped as a pair, and sometimes referred to as husband and wife.

It is said that they learned of the coming of the Compact and the withdrawal of the gods from Midgard, and contrived to sneak out with them, in the process acquiring divine standing of their own. The story is credible mainly because they are clearly able to grant spells to their worshipers and offer direct (if misleading) guidance to their most powerful clerics. In one version of the story they tricked Amun into granting them divinity; in another, they stole it from Anubis; there are also versions where they simply petitioned Nepthys, and versions where Indra was so taken with what they had done that he granted them divinity himself when he learned of it.

Whatever the truth of this, learn well what we know: that two of our people tricked the gods themselves and joined their number, and if your own deeds are worthy enough they will be joined with Gleefulshiv and Gruila and your name will be one with theirs.